* * *
Mornings were nevermy best friends. I could wake up early, thanks to the numerous alarms on my phone, but I still struggled to open my eyes no matter how much sleep I got during the night.
Today was no different.
The morning light slipping through the window of her room irritated my eyes, and I lifted my hand, trying to block it.
I rubbed against my eyes, shaking off the remnants of sleep. My left arm throbbed, sore from the position I was in throughout the night. I looked at her, smiling at the peacefulness emanating from her.
Her blonde hair was spread over the pillow and over my arm, and I couldn’t wait to start planning the summer with her, even if we didn’t get to do it all.
“Soph,” I whispered. “Sophie, wake up.”
I shook her with my other hand, but as my palm landed on the soft skin of her shoulder where her shirt slightly fell off, I knew something was wrong.
“Sophie.” I shook her harder now and pulled myself upward, letting her head slip off from my arm. She didn’t move.
“Sophie. Wake up, Sophie.” I pushed the hair off of her face, and that was when I saw it.
Her chest wasn’t moving.
“No, no, no.” My body started shaking, my hands trembling as I tried to wake her up.
“Sophie!” I yelled at her. “This isn’t funny, Soph. Wake up.” I pressed my lips against hers. “Come on, open those eyes for me.” I pressed my hand against her chest and then moved slightly higher, rubbing my knuckles against her breastbone.
“Wake up, darling. Please.” My vision blurred as tears came forward. “Wake up, for me. Please. Please!”
But she wasn’t waking. She wasn’t moving even when I shook her body.
“You can’t leave me, Soph. You can’t fucking leave me!” Her hand went over the edge of the bed—lifeless, cold.
“Wake up! Please don’t leave me. I’m begging you.” I bent down and hugged her lifeless body to me. “I lied, Sophie. I’m not ready for you to go. I will never be ready.”
Her hair tickled my nose and started sticking to my tear-stained face.
“You promised me forever, Soph. We were supposed to be together forever. Please. Don’t go. Don’t go where I can’t follow you, baby. Please.”
But nothing worked. Not my shaking, not my frantic voice… None of it worked.
She was gone.
My Sophie was gone.
“Oh, God!” I thundered. “Come back. Come back to me. Please.”
But her fragile little body didn’t stir. She didn’t hug me like she usually did.
She didn’t open her eyes to look at me underneath those long, light lashes. Her lips were slightly open, her eyes closed shut.
Her skin was as cold as the ice at Alkey Lake.
“Please!”
“What is going o—” The door of her room flew open and through my tears I could see Andy standing there. “No,” he shook his head. “No, no, no.”
“I’m sorry,” I cried. “I couldn’t do anything. She just… She wouldn’t wake up, Andy. She isn’t waking up for me. Why isn’t she waking up?”
Two pairs of steps echoed through the hallway outside, and not even a second later her dad and her mom appeared at the door, while Andy held himself there.
